After All This Time
by LosingInTranslation
Summary: Sara’s thoughts on her final departure from Las Vegas. Song-Ficlet GSR COMPLETE


**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!  
**RATING:** T for Teen  
**SPOILERS:** Through US Aired Episodes of Season 9  
**PAIRINGS:** GSR  
**WORD COUNT:** 947 (Yes, a ficlet!)  
**PROMPT:** John Stewart's "All the Words Unspoken"  
**SUMMARY:** Sara's thoughts on her final departure from Las Vegas. Song-Ficlet

**A/N:** I owed one of my fellow 1hour2write mods a songfic, and while it took me a little while to pull it off, I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?

**REVIEWS:** Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

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After all this time, and it finally came down to nothing more than packing up her overnight bag and silently walking away. Nothing was said, not outright. There was no fight left in either of them. It was as it had always been, with all the words unspoken.

There were no careful discussions about what they would do with the furniture. Not a single word about what would become of the dog. And nothing at all about the sadness that came with their breakup.

It was always that way, the words, so important in every other aspect of his life, were just as absent in their failure as they had been during their relationship. And Sara was left to wonder if maybe she had been filling in the blanks incorrectly all along.

As she looked around the bedroom they once shared, she wanted to cry, but her tears had all been spent. It seemed like such a huge defeat, but it came with an eerie silence, devoid of any words.

Walking away that day, she was overcome by the volume of the things he didn't say. How could silence roar so loudly in her ears? He never answered her question with words, but his quiet acceptance spoke to her with a thunderous clap.

She wanted to hate him for his inability to communicate when it came to them. She wanted him to suffer when she left, and she wanted to punish him for never telling her what she needed so desperately to hear. But even as she rocked to sleep on the waves every night, she could never bring herself to hate him.

In the end, she did what she had always done, and she gave him leave. She let him go, because she thought it would assuage his guilt and allow him to move on.

When she sent him that video, it took everything in her power not to crack and tell him all of the words that had been waiting inside her throat for years; all the words she hoped and prayed were waiting inside his throat, too. But she knew that wasn't fair, and so instead she left the walls standing and told him he was free.

That was when she cried.

Tears of pain and tears of shame poured from her eyes and Sara felt all of it surround her in darkness and despair. Everything they endured had been for naught, and nothing of the love she once thought they shared remained.

Her chest heaving from the sobs, she was suddenly shaken by a warm heavy hand.

"Sara? Wake up." With a gasp, she opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. Clutching a hand to her chest, she turned toward the very concerned voice. "Are you okay?"

The worry lines around his eyes were firmly creased, but she could see so much more behind the wrinkles and she smiled. "Sorry, just a bad dream, I guess."

He wiped the tears from her eyes and gently kissed her forehead. "Okay… Do you want to talk about it?"

Sara smiled to herself as she thought about the horrible dream. "It's silly."

He slipped into the bed and brought her up to rest on his chest. "But if it upset you, maybe you should talk it out."

Patting his chest, she snuggled in a little and smiled again. "Are you sure?"

He chuckled and she could feel it rumble beneath her ear. "I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

"Okay." She sat up in bed beside him and began to tell him about the horrible events in her dream in vivid detail. He listened intently, his hands laced behind his head as she explained it all.

When she reached the end of her tale, he sighed as he dropped his hands and took hold of one of hers. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing you don't know anyone who's as much an ass as that guy, huh?"

She looked down between them and watched as he played with the ring on her finger. When she looked up, she saw the sheepish expression on his face and took pity on him. Sara leaned over and picked up his chin so that she could look him in the eyes. "Not anymore."

The blush on his cheeks contrasted nicely with the vibrant blue of his eyes and Sara was unable to resist him. She leaned in further and pressed her lips to Gil's as his arms reached up to wrap around her.

There was no other feeling quite like having his body surrounding hers. And she was reminded of that fact with crystal clarity as Gil turned her over in the bed and covered her body with his. With all the words he whispered softly against her skin, Sara felt freedom from the doubt which once filled her days.

Just as things were heating up, an insistent cry called out from the next room. Gil growled and buried his head in Sara's neck. "Can't she wait ten minutes?"

Sara laughed at his exasperation. "Sorry, but while she doesn't have the words yet, she definitely gets the message out loud and clear." She gave him a gentle shove and Gil rolled onto his back as the baby cried out again. "Now, go get her before she really starts to give you what for."

Playing the reluctant father, he moved the edge of the bed and protested as he rose. "The things I do for love."

Sara teasingly swatted his backside as he walked away from the bed. The leering glance he shot back at her told Sara they would be revisiting the topic after the morning feedings.


End file.
